• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.13-16
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• 2018

X-linked juvenile retinoschisis (XLRS) is characterized by the progressive loss of visual acuity and vitreous hemorrhage. XLRS is caused by a mutation of retinoschisin 1 (RS1) gene at Xp22.13. In the current report, a 2-year-old Korean patient with XLRS was described. The germline deletion of exon 1 was identified in the RS1 gene. Considering X-linked inheritance pattern, validation of a carrier state of a patient's mother is important for the genetic counseling of other family members and for the future reproductive plan. To confirm the carrier state of his mother, the multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification analysis was done using peripheral leukocytes and found the heterozygous deletion of exon 1 in his mother.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.505-513
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• 1995

P-lement mediated enhancer detector lines (EDla) were screened for reporter gene (1acZ expression In the ovary of Drosophila mejanogaster Cell-type spedfic 1acZ expression can be grouped Into three parts such as in the geimline, soma, and both. LacZ expression In germline cells was devided into 2 types; expression in nurse cells or in both of the nurse cells and oocote. In the stage-9 to stage-lO follicles, lacZ expression was observed either In the whole follicle cells around oocote or in the subpopulation of follicle cells in egg chamber. lacZ expression in the subset of follicle cells are showed in the centripetal follicle cells or the columnar follicle cells except centripetal follicle cells. Several lines showed anterior to postedor gradient pattern of lacZ expression in the follicle cells. Interestingly there were 3 lines in which lacZ was expressed In the polar cells and/or the horder cells of egg chamber. These lacZ expression patterns in the different ovarian cells of independent EDla reflect the cell type-spedflc expression of maternal genes nesr the P-element insertion, and might provide a basis for cloning of genes involved in oogenesis of Drosophila.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.27-32
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• 2006

Expression of invasion/metastasis suppressor, E-cadherin, is reduced in many types of human carcinomas. Although somatic and germline mutations in the CDH1, which encodes the human E-cadherin, have frequently been reported in cases with diffuse gastric and lobular breast cancers, irreversible genetic inactivations are rare in other human carcinomas. Recently, it has been well documented that some genes in human cancers may be inactivated by altered CpG methylation. Herein, we determined the expression and methylation status of E-cadherin in oral squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) by immunohistochemistry and methylation-specific PCR. The expression of E-cadherin was significantly higher in the well-differentiated oral SCCs than the moderately or poorly differentiated ones. None of eight tested benign epithelial hyperplasias showed aberrant methylation, whereas five of 12 oral squamous cell carcinomas showed aberrant methylation. When we compared E-cadherin expression with methylation status, oral SCCs with normal methylation showed a higher expression of E-cadherin than those with methylation. These findings suggest that aberrant CpG methylation of CDH1 promoter region is closely associated with transcriptional inactivation and might be involved in tumor progression of the oral mucosa.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.493-498
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• 2003

In this study we have investigated the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of GX-12, a multiple plasmid DNA vaccine for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. Plasmid DNA was rapidly degraded in blood with a half-life of 1.34 min and was no longer detectable at 90 min after intravenous injection in mice. After intramuscular injection, plasmid DNA concentration in the injection site rapidly declined to less than 1 ％ of the initial concentration by 90 min post-injection. However, sub-picogram levels (per mg tissue) were occasionally detected for several days after injection. The relative proportions of the individual plasm ids of GX-12 remained relatively constant at the injection site until 90 min post-injection. The concentration of plasmid DNA in tissues other than the injection site peaked at 90 min post-injection and decreased to undetectable levels at 8 h post-injection. The rapid in vivo degradation of GX-12 and absence of persistence in non-target tissues suggest that the risk of potential gene-related toxicities by GX-12 administration, such as expression in non-target tissues, insertional mutagenesis and germline transmission, is minimal.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.24-36
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• 2010

Colorectal cancer is one of the most steeply increasing malignancies in Korea. Among 398,824 new patients recorded by the Korea Central Cancer Registry between 2003 and 2005, 47,915 cases involved colorectal cancers, accounting for 12.0 % of all malignancies. In 2002, total number of colorectal cancer cases had accounted for 11.2 % of all malignancies. Hereditary syndromes are the source of approximately 5% to 15% of overall colorectal cancer cases. Hereditary colorectal cancers are divided into two types: hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), and cancers associated with hereditary colorectal polyposis, including familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, juvenile polyposis, and the recently reported hMutYH (MYH)-associated polyposis (MAP). Hereditary colorectal cancers have unique clinical features distinct from sporadic cancer because these are due to germline mutations of the causative genes; (i) early age-of-onset of cancer, (ii) frequent association with synchronous or metachronous tumors, (iii) frequent association with extracolonic manifestations. The management strategy for patients with hereditary colorectal cancer is quite different from that for sporadic cancer. Furthermore, screening, genetic counseling, and surveillance for at-risk familial member are also important. A well-organized registry can plays a central role in the surveillance and management of families affected by hereditary colorectal cancers. Here, we discuss each type of hereditary colorectal cancer, focusing on the clinical and genetic characteristics, management, genetic screening, and surveillance.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.351-359
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• 2014

Phasianus colchicus is not only a beautiful bird but also a great value in science and under the threat of endanger. Hence, the aim of this study was to isolate the pheasant male germ cells (mGCs) and then induce them into elongated sperm-like cells in vitro. The mGCs were purified and enriched by a two-step plating method based on the different adherence velocities of mGCs and somatic cells. The percentage of the c-kit positive cells and c-kit negative cells examined by flow cytometry analysis (FCA) was 92.87% and 2.57%, respectively. Subsequently, the mGCs were induced for 48h in DMEM/F12 medium supplemented factors such as retinol acid, testosterone and bovine FSH, followed by 5 weeks in culture. We found that some elongated sperm-like cells appeared initially in vitro under inducement of stimulated factors. The elongated sperm-like cells showed in the expression of changed morphology and post-transcriptional marker such as spermatid associated (SPERT), spermatid perinuclear RNA binding protein (STRBP), round spermatid basic protein 1 (RSBN1) and SPER1L. Moreover, in DNA content identified assay, induced cells showed that the 1C DNA population markedly increased in differentiated group but it was not change in undifferentiated group. Successful in vitro differentiation of pheasant testicular germline cells into spermatids appears to offer extremely attractive potential for the conservation of endangered birds and treatment of male infertility.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 2004

Gene delivery is one of the keen interests in animal industry as well as research on gene functions. Some of the in vivo gene delivery techniques have been successively used in various tissues for the gene therapy and transgenesis. Despite intensive efforts, it still remains to overcome problems of limited local and regional administration and low transgene expression. To improve the efficiency of gene delivery, a new procedure was tested. We injected exogenous DNA containing LacZ into the female or male gonads and then pulsed electric field. Electroporated gonads showed positive X-gal staining in many seminiferous tubules of the porcine fetal gonads. Exogenously introduced LacZ genes were also expressed in female porcine gonad. In addition, we demonstrated efficient gene delivery in gonad of adult mouse. Furthermore, we succeed to generate genetically modified germline cells showing GFP and positive X-gal signals. The results suggest that the newly developed gene delivery is an effective way of in vivo transfection in mammals. The developed gene delivery procedure should be useful in producing transgenic animals when combined with primary cell culture and nuclear transplantation.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.239-245
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• 2015

Transgenic animals have been widely used for developmental biology studies, as disease models, and even in industry such as transgenic bioreactor animals. For transgenic birds, quail has the great advantages of small body size, short generation time, and frequent egg production. To date, retroviral or lentiviral transduction has been used to generate transgenic quail for various purposes. However, the efficiency of transgenic offspring production with these methods is relatively low and viral vector usage has safety issues. Unfortunately, non-viral transgenesis has not been established in quail due to a deficiency of stem cell and germ cell culture systems. In this study, we established a direct in ovo lipofection method that could be used to create transgenic quail without germline-competent cells or viruses. To optimize the injection stage during embryo development, the liposome complex (containing piggyBacCMV-GFP and transposase plasmids) was introduced into an embryonic blood vessel at 50 hr, 55 hr or 60 hr. GFP expression was detected in various tissues (heart, kidney, liver and stomach) on day 12 of incubation under a fluorescence microscope. Additionally, GFP-positive cells were detected in the recipient embryonic gonads. In conclusion, the direct in ovo lipofection method with the piggyBac transposon could be an efficient and useful tool for generating transgenic quail.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.107-114
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• 2010

For stable germline transformation, the promoter of Bombyx mori cytoplasmic actin gene (BmA3) has been used for ubiquitous expression of transgenes. So far, no strong promoter is available for ubiquitous expression in B. mori, excluding BmA3 promoter. To identify more powerful promoter than previously reported BmA3 promoter, we isolated 9 clones that show stronger signal compared to BmA3 by a dot blot hybridization. Among these 9 clones, we focused on one clone which has high amino acid homology (85%) with hypothetical protein 32 gene of Lonomia obliqua. This clone, named bHp32 (B. mori hypothetical protein 32) was ubiquitously expressed in all tissues and developmental stage of fifth instar B. mori larvae. As result of promoter assay using dual luciferase assay system, we found the highest transcription activity region (-1,200/+220) in the 5'-flanking region of bHp32 gene, which has 42-fold more intensive promoter activity than BmA3 promoter. Moreover, the bHp32 promoter was normally regulated in Bm5, Sf9, and S2 cells. Therefore, we suggest that bHp32 promoter may be used more powerful and effectively for transgene expression in various insects containing B. mori as a universal promoter.

• Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.234-240
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• 2017

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, for which smoking is considered as the primary risk factor. The present study was conducted to determine whether genetic alterations induced by radon exposure are associated with the susceptible risk of lung cancer in never smokers. Methods: To accurately identify mutations within individual tumors, next generation sequencing was conduct for 19 pairs of lung cancer tissue. The associations of germline and somatic variations with radon exposure were visualized using OncoPrint and heatmap graphs. Bioinformatic analysis was performed using various tools. Results: Alterations in several genes were implicated in lung cancer resulting from exposure to radon indoors, namely those in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), tumor protein p53 (TP53), NK2 homeobox 1 (NKX2.1), phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 7 (CHD7), discoidin domain receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (DDR2), lysine methyltransferase 2C (MLL3), chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 5 (CHD5), FAT atypical cadherin 1 (FAT1), and dual specificity phosphatase 27 (putative) (DUSP27). Conclusions: While these genes might regulate the carcinogenic pathways of radioactivity, further analysis is needed to determine whether the genes are indeed completely responsible for causing lung cancer in never smokers exposed to residential radon.